The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 123

"…So we met at the warehouse and I brought them along. For the truck, I used one that the [Dawn] guys had prepared, and when I asked the kids, they said they had already received training on how to drive a truck, so it was simple."

"Then the reason you were so late is…"

Before Joker could finish his words, Lee Shin nodded as if to say he was correct.

"I was late because I was making the guys sent from [Wonderland] as support work a bit. I couldn't just come here without knowing what they might have done to the trucks or the kids' bodies. As a bonus, I also made a few simple requests."

"I understand that much, but what's the reason you didn't contact us?"

At Joker's words, Lee Shin said confidently.

"I forgot."

"Hah, this guy, really…"

After a slight commotion, in the calmed atmosphere, Lee Shin roughly explained how things had turned out and how he had come to bring the children.

Of course, he didn't reveal all of his true intentions.

While the [Dawn] guild house was collapsing, he had accidentally ended up at the educational facility, and there he saw the children moving boxes.

It wasn't because he coveted the things in the [Dawn] warehouse, but he had happened to see the children and rescued them, and bringing the items was just a side benefit.

He explained it to the four of them in that way.

"Hah, it's troublesome for you to suddenly do something like this."

"Oh? So you're thinking of just abandoning those kids?"

At Lee Shin's words, the children, who had suddenly become the center of the conversation, were startled and looked in Joker's direction.

As if they had already heard words of refusal from Joker's mouth, the children's faces began to turn deathly pale.

But there was no need for that.

"There's no way we could do that."

"That's right."

"It's sudden, but we can't just leave them."

Joker answered immediately as if it wasn't even worth thinking about, and Alpha and Beta next to him nodded in agreement without hesitation.

If the children Lee Shin had brought were other ordinary children, they too would not have been able to nod their heads without any hesitation like this.

But these children were different.

There was no way they could make a decision by judging coldly with their heads.

The children's appearance, the clothes they were wearing, their expressions, their gestures, their eyes.

Every single thing about the children reminded them of their own childhood and the final moments of their comrades.

Of course, they knew that ignoring these children would be much more convenient and less risky.

But if it were possible to calculate coldly like that, they wouldn't have been doing the crazy act of taking revenge on [Dawn] together for nearly 10 years in the first place.

In other words.

Heejuk-

It was just as Lee Shin had thought.

"By the way, did you clean up properly? It would be extremely troublesome if you brought an unnecessary tail with you."

"I don't know much about that part. The supporters said they wouldn't be tracked at the very least, so we have no choice but to trust them. They also came using different routes and at different times."

At Lee Shin's words, Joker laughed as if in disbelief.

"You know that's not enough, right? Generally, if 10 trucks gather in one place, anyone would find it strange."

"Of course, I know that too."

Lee Shin said that and looked at Joker and Irie with a light smile.

"But those other things are problems I can't handle."

"…Hah, really."

You do it.

Joker, who understood the hidden meaning in Lee Shin's words, sighed and got up from his seat, going to where the laptop was.

And Irie, who had been listening to the story next to him, shrugged his shoulders and followed Joker with light steps, as if a burden had been lifted.

Brrr-

At that moment, the four's expressions changed at the sound of a car engine from outside, and they took out their weapons, but.

"Ah, they came much faster than I thought."

At Lee Shin's single remark, they immediately lowered their guard and put away their weapons.

Talkak-

As Lee Shin walked out to the yard, a truck was stopped next to the 300 children standing in a column.

The one who got out of the truck was a familiar face, if you could call it that.

"It's a bit ambiguous to say it's been a while, customer."

The broker who looked like a blonde, tanned delinquent, whom they had seen when he had arranged the house for them.

He got out of the truck with an awkward smile.

***

Although the pension prepared by [Wonderland] was quite large, it was not spacious enough for nearly 300 children to live together.

So when Lee Shin was having the trucks and the children inspected, he asked the supporters to get some things.

"Haha, I never thought the day would come when I'd be moving things like this while working as a broker."

And now, the broker had come to deliver the items the supporters had obtained.

"It's not bad, is it? It's not like it's a thrilling item that will get you caught immediately if you're found, but you're moving it with a huge markup."

At Lee Shin's words, the broker scratched his cheek.

"In the grand scheme of things, that's true, but… I'm not kidding, getting and moving these things was harder than smuggling a hundred guns."

"Then take a little more as a bonus."

"Loyalty!"

At my words, the broker immediately fixed his expression and gave me a playful salute.

"So, the items?"

"Yep!"

The broker pointed to the three trucks behind him and said.

"80 large tents that can comfortably fit 5 adults, and 80 sets of all-purpose camping gear! 300 servings of mineral water, ingredients, and snacks plundered from marts all over the city! And 350 sets of children's clothing, top and bottom, for the 5 to 10-year-old age range!"

The broker said confidently, looking at Lee Shin with a 'how about that' expression.

"If there's anything lacking, I can bring more tomorrow."

"You brought much more than I thought."

"I told you. I went through a lot of trouble to bring them."

Lee Shin nodded his head.

At first, he thought it was an exaggeration, but seeing these things, it seemed it wasn't a severe exaggeration.

"You certainly must have gone through some trouble."

"Right? It was incredibly hard because you said no evidence or traces should be left."

"Bonus added."

"Loyalty! Loyalty!"

Since it wasn't his card anyway, Lee Shin just used it freely.

Lee Shin, who had silenced the broker with a single gesture, beckoned to the ten children who were looking this way from inside the house.

At that, the children quickly ran towards Lee Shin.

The ten children were like class presidents who had taken charge of each truck and led the other children.

For reference, it was these kids who had driven the trucks.

"Now, there are tents and food in those trucks. The kids who were in the trucks together should distribute them amongst yourselves. Set up the tents so they won't be discovered, and there should be snacks too, so eat while you work."

"Yes!"

The children, who answered loudly to Lee Shin's words, quickly went to the other children and relayed what Lee Shin had said.

"Is the culprit of the commotion that's on the news right now you guys, customer?"

The broker asked, watching the children.

At that, Lee Shin smiled lightly.

"I already asked you to manipulate the information, and you're asking something like that? I don't like to sound people out."

"…"

At Lee Shin's words, the broker did not let out a sly laugh or a playful remark as he had until now.

He just looked at Lee Shin with a blank expression.

But it wasn't something like a battle of wills.

On the contrary.

Gulp-

He had just frozen under the pressure that Lee Shin had momentarily emitted.

The broker felt his back and hands become damp with cold sweat and pondered.

'A threat… it's not. No, did he even emit any aura in the first place?'

The composure that comes from being an overwhelmingly strong person.

The broker had just been crushed by that.

The broker, who had realized that much, forced the corners of his mouth up and said.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of blabbering about it anywhere until you guys leave Japan."

"Why?"

"…Let's call it an investment. I smell a lot of money on you, customer."

"Hmm~"

Lee Shin looked at the broker for a moment and then said.

"For the next month, use the money you have to buy and gather food and water. It should be fine if you have enough for one person to eat for about three months."

"Yes? What is this all of a sudden…"

The broker was flustered, but Lee Shin ignored him.

"I recommend you wrap up your business in Japan and go to Korea. A mess that can't even be described by the word 'shitshow' is about to break out, and from what I see, I don't think Japan will hold up well."

The broker quietly closed his mouth and fell into thought, and Lee Shin smiled lightly.

"It's a bonus for doing a better job than I thought. Please take care of cleaning up the traces we left behind as well."

Lee Shin waved his hand a few times as if to say 'go now,' then turned his back and returned to the pension.

'Did I tell him for nothing? Well… a situation where that guy sells our information on the contrary would also be interesting, so it should be fine.'

Lee Shin made up his mind lightly and moved his steps.

***

Time passed, and it became a late night.

The children, who had filled their stomachs, set a watch and went into their tents to sleep to wrap up the day.

"For now, we've said we'll accept them, but what should we do from now on?"

"I wonder."

"Should we ask Smile?"

"I already asked him."

"What did he say?"

"He said it would be good to receive support from [Wonderland] for now."

And Joker, Irie, Beta, and Alpha sat on the terrace, watching the children and sipping on canned beer for Players that the broker had brought.

Even so, their eyes were on the children.

No, what they were seeing now, with the help of alcohol, was the past and the present.

Was that why?

If I had planned a little more properly.

If I had reached out my hand a little more.

If I had been a little more courageous.

If I could have thought a little more coolly.

Such thoughts slowly crawled up their ankles.

Moisture dripped from the canned beer held in their hands.

The celebratory toast for the end of their revenge was gradually losing its fizz.

"Hm? Why are you guys being all gloomy?"

In the midst of that, Lee Shin, who had come out after finishing his shower, joined them while drying his hair with a towel and brought one of the beers piled on the table to his lips.

Perhaps because it was for Players, he could feel the scent of alcohol.

With Lee Shin's appearance, they naturally came out of their reminiscence of the past.

"By the way, what are you guys going to do now?"

Lee Shin, who had downed a can of beer in one shot, asked as he opened a new can.

At Lee Shin's sudden question, the eyes of everyone present moved towards him.

"Well, the revenge isn't over yet, but it's practically the same as being over. Have you thought about what you'll do now?"

"Why are you suddenly asking something like that?"

At Joker's words, Lee Shin shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not easy to hear the impressions of someone who has just finished a revenge that lasted nearly 10 years, is it?"

"…That's so like you."

Beta muttered in disbelief.

And with those words, everyone fell silent.

For the three who were bound by the past and the present, the future was a difficult thing to think about.

"I'm thinking of becoming a teacher for the brats."

At that moment, Irie opened his mouth.

At that, the three looked at Irie with slightly surprised faces, and Irie grinned at the three.

"It was surprisingly fun when I taught you guys. There are a lot of kids now, so I'm thinking of taking care of those brats for a while. So you guys do something else."

Irie spoke in a tone as if to say 'don't covet what I've claimed,' but there was no one there who couldn't hear the hidden meaning in his words.

The three who heard Irie's words quietly fell into thought.

The first to speak was Joker.

"I want to study alchemy more. Besides the things related to the operation, there were many things I wanted to try making."

The second to speak was Beta.

"I'm thinking of traveling. Just wandering around wherever my heart takes me, eating what I want to eat, and doing what I want to do, freely."

Joker and Beta each came up with their own answers.

"…"

But Alpha, still unable to figure out what she liked, kept her mouth shut and only rolled her eyes.

In the midst of that, Alpha's eyes moved towards Lee Shin, and she froze in that state.

His still damp red hair shone in the faint moonlight, and the golden hair next to it looked as if it had been painted with stars.

The sight of Lee Shin drinking beer with a light smile in that state looked utterly captivating.

"I…"

And the moment she saw that sight, Alpha, as if possessed, gave the answer to what she wanted to do.

"Puhahaha!!!"

Lee Shin, who heard those words, laughed because it was funny.

"Haaaah…"

Beta held her forehead as if it were a headache.

Bbadeuk-

Joker gritted his teeth and glared at Lee Shin as if he would stab him to death.

Grin-

Irie smiled as if in relief.

And so, the second day in Japan came to a close.